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JAMES 'S. LAWSON, Oli DISCO, MICHIGAN.

Letters .Patent No. 74,231, dated February 11, ISGS.

IMPROVEMENTIN HAND CORN-PLANTERS.

TO'ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: i

l 4:Be it known that I, JAMES S. LAWSON, of Disco, in the county ofMacomb,'and in theV State of Michigan, have invented an Improved HandCorn-Planter; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in thefollowing order, in which-v A Figure 1 is a perspective view. Figure 2,a-longitudinal view. l Figure 3, a sectional view through C D. Figure 4,a view of the sliding .valves a and b. Figure 5, a view showing theconcentric rings or tubes ff, &c., by which the chamber m is enlarged ordiminished, -to regulate the quantity of seed. i

4Figure is a view of the tube P, divided or flattened in such a manneras to separate the kernels in the hill. A ,g 1, is a tube, of metal or4other suitable material, and of the required length and size. F' isa-portion ofthis tube, containing the chamber m, as shown in iig. 3, andfirmly fastened to A by screws or otherwise. P is another portion ofthis tube, of required length, Ste., enlarged-and attened,.or divided atits lower end, and firmly attachedto F at its upper end. B is a blade ofsteel, of desired form and dimensions, and rmly fastened fto the lowerend of P. a and b are slides or valves, made of thin strips of steel or'other suitable material, and working through the'slots e c in theportion F. d d, g.4, are holes through the ends ofthe slides a I1,through which the end of thelever E passes, somewhat loosely, in orderto secure a free movement of the slides through the slots c c. o andLare openings through the slides aand'b, so arranged as to open andclose alternately above and below the chamber m,'in the throttle fn, bya simple movement of the lever E.- k is a band clasped around the tubeA, .and f ormingthe fulcrum ofv the lever E. His a spring `between thelever andthe tuhe A, and above the fnlcrum c. E is a lever, ofY lightand strong material, for the purpose of operating the slides a and b,one e'nd of which, passesthrough the holes d in these slides, and theother, reachingnearly t`o' thetop of the tube A, is bent outward, toforni a rest for the hand ofthe operator. L is a cap fitting .closelyupon' the top ofthe tube A,'to secure the grain, The chamber m isenlarged or contracted to suit the kind and quantity of seed, byinserting or withdrawing thin tubes tting one within -another, as shownatff in lig."5'. The openings t and o, in the slides a and b, 'areplaced diagonally to each other in reference tothe chamber m, and soarranged that when the lever E is in the position shown in fig.v 1,Ywhere it is' always keptby the spring H, whenuot pressed by the hand in'using the planter, the opening 7i in the slide b is directly over the ohamhervm, and the chamber is lled with the seedgrain. Now, byrdeprcssingthe lever bythe hand at G,`the upper valve is clsed, and the opening oin the slide a is lbrought directly beneath the chamber m, and the seedescapes through the portion of the tube P, and is deposited in theground beneath the blade B. The construction of the openings inthes-lides is such that a,'in a, is brought beneath m before h in b isentirely closed. This arrangement allows the seed to pass out of thechamber m before theslide bcomes in contact with the kernels belowinAthe chamber, thereby preventing the grain from clogging in thethrottle, and securing a nearly uniform quantityl at each deposit. Thelower portion ofthe tube P is divided or flattened in such a'manner astofseparute the kernels somewhat in the hill, as may be seen in fig. 6.l

My planter is operated by placing thehandupon the leverat G and'aroundthe tube A, in such a manner that two or more fingers can clasp thelever, the planter being held in an upright position in advance oftheoperator. B is then thrust into the ground to a suicientdeptli, and thetop of` the planter `canried forward suicientlyto leave an opening inthe ground beneath this blade. The end of the lever E is then broughtdown to the tube- A, at-G, und the grain falls into the ground beneaththe blade B, which is then withdrawn, and the operator places his footupon .the place ashe advances to the next hill, at the same timerelaxing his hold upon the lever4 at G, and so on continually. I

When two 'planters' are used by the same person at one time, a barrow orrollershould be' passed over the field after planting, to better securethe covering of the grain, as-in such case the foot could not be placedupon both hills without considerable delay. i

New, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is- A vcombination of all the principal parts above described,essentially and for the purposes set forth, constitoting an entiremachine.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing hand corn-planter, I havehereunto set my haiid, this 7th `day of September, 1867..

JAMES S; LAWSON.

Witnesses: 4 i i WM. A. Lawson, H. S. Cmrmu.

